I like Early Times...Is there anybody who agrees with me? Well, among Bourbon Discussioners, there was nobody, so I'm trying my chance once again

Jim Murray gives it a decent review in his 2005 Whiskey Bible, and his description makes it sound appealing. Actually, I should say "them" rather than "it," as it appears there are two. He gives them scores of 80 and 83 out of 100.

Here are his reviews (with color and fonts painstakingly duplicated as in the book ), with n, t, f, and b being nose, taste, finish and balance.

Early Times (brown label)(80) n19t21 f20 b20 A very light but well-made bourbon. clean, with hints of cinnamon and citrus. Quite refreshing. 40% (80 proof).

Early Times (yellow label) (83) n20 t21 f21 b21 A heavier, more vanilla-rich bourbon that offers a consistent, delicate, sweet theme throughout with butterscotch on the finish. 40% (80 proof).

Do you have the yellow or brown label?

Regan and Regan say that the two bourbons are 80 and 86 proof, the 86 proof being labeled "Premium." They don't mention label color. But that was in 1998. I don't know if Murray has it wrong or it it has changed. Perhaps the yellow label, even if the same proof, is aged longer than the brown.

Just to re-emphasize what others have written, Early Times as sold in the US is not a bourbon since 20% of the barrels are used, not new. The overseas product is a bourbon aged in 100% charred, new oak barrels. I think that both are made the same until they are barrelled, and suspect that the American product, labeled "Kentucky Whiskey" (not a legally defined term), is not aged as long as the bourbons.

I read in Mike Jackson's book "Whiskey" that the yellow label is 4 yr old and the brown label is 7 yr old.

Joe

I've collected a few different year's bottles of ET, and don't seem to recall any concurrent bottling of the yellow and brown labels. I've also never seen ET with an age statement older than 4 years.

Is there a yellow label foreign release to which Jackson refers? My only experience with yellow labels ends with what I call the "ketchup and mustard" labels of the late '70s and perhaps early '80s.

Maybe there have been several age bottlings, if so, I'd really like to compare a 7 year ET to some Old Charter, as they're both high corn recipes. With the ET I have (all 4 year or no age statement, some tax-stamp ketchup and mustard label), I guess the better comparison is with IW Harper 4 year. Sounds like a...kinda good...shootout.

Jim Murray gives it a decent review in his 2005 Whiskey Bible, and his description makes it sound appealing. Actually, I should say "them" rather than "it," as it appears there are two. He gives them scores of 80 and 83 out of 100.

Here are his reviews (with color and fonts painstakingly duplicated as in the book ), with n, t, f, and b being nose, taste, finish and balance.

Early Times (brown label)(80) n19t21 f20 b20 A very light but well-made bourbon. clean, with hints of cinnamon and citrus. Quite refreshing. 40% (80 proof).

Early Times (yellow label) (83) n20 t21 f21 b21 A heavier, more vanilla-rich bourbon that offers a consistent, delicate, sweet theme throughout with butterscotch on the finish. 40% (80 proof).

Do you have the yellow or brown label?

Regan and Regan say that the two bourbons are 80 and 86 proof, the 86 proof being labeled "Premium." They don't mention label color. But that was in 1998. I don't know if Murray has it wrong or it it has changed. Perhaps the yellow label, even if the same proof, is aged longer than the brown.

Just to re-emphasize what others have written, Early Times as sold in the US is not a bourbon since 20% of the barrels are used, not new. The overseas product is a bourbon aged in 100% charred, new oak barrels. I think that both are made the same until they are barrelled, and suspect that the American product, labeled "Kentucky Whiskey" (not a legally defined term), is not aged as long as the bourbons.

Jeff

Hello, please exuse me for this delayed answer. I missed this thread completely! Thank you for your detailed reply. And, yes ET Bourbon and ET Kentucky Whisky are produced from exactly the same mashbill, I verified this.
I'm sending a pic. of my ET bourbon, it doesn't seem yellow There are no statements about age on the bottle.

Early Times - One Mo Time

Originally Posted by mrt

I like Early Times...Is there anybody who agrees with me? Well, among Bourbon Discussioners, there was nobody, so I'm trying my chance once again

From one discussioner to another, I am glad you like it and happy for you. As for me, I had my one experience with ET early on....in my early youthful days of drinking - and do not plan another in this life. I will admit that in those days my purposes/goals were for the effect with little regard for the nose & taste. That has all changed now but I just can't go back over some of the roads I travelled and the ET road is one of them. However, I will not degrade anyone for liking it. We are all different and unique. That makes each person's experience special and the sharing of that experience a big part of the reason we are here.

Perhaps as another one has said in this thread, they export a much better product than they distribute at home. If that is the case, then you should be content for some time to come.....more power to you!!!